Belief
by WAR-Operative
Summary: Sometimes, Sophie feels like she's the only person who believes in fairy tales. . . and that's because she is. The entire world has gone dark, children refusing to have faith in anything. Unfortunately for Sophie, somebody has noticed the last small, flickering light on the dead globe. And this time. . . Pitch plans on killing hope for good. ** Full warnings inside.
1. Prologue

**Belief  
**

**Rating: **T

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this. I really wish I did, though.

**Author's Notes**: Hello! I, like many others, _love _Rise of the Guardians! And I won't lie, I have a helpless little girl crush on Jack (who doesn't?!). But alas, this story is not about me.

It's about our dear little Sophie.

So let me elaborate:

In this AU/Fix-It Fic: Pitch won. Jack never escaped the Arctic. As you can imagine, the Guardians fell shortly after.

It's an idea I wanted to play around with, and because I have some big plans for Sophie! I loved that little mop of blonde hair. And I felt like she needed her own story.

So, without further ado, here we go!

* * *

**Prologue  
**

"Man is what he believes."  
-Anton Chekhov

* * *

She pursed her lips.

Her hands squiggled another line, and then one more. She honestly didn't consider herself an amazing artist, but years of practice and encouragement had always proved her otherwise. Everybody loved her drawings, and they always complimented her skills.

But this. . . it just wasn't turning out right.

She sighed as she tried again, ditching the gray, lifeless pencil in favor of something more colorful. She smiled as the picture began to morph to life in front of her, swirling with hues of blues and purples and beautiful greens.

_There. That's so much better._

Her hand moved quickly, fingers artfully crafting the colors into the very air themselves. She continued, tracing and drawing mindless, intricate patterns into the eddies that little wings caused-

"Are you still drawing those ridiculous things, Sophie?"

Sophie jerked at the intrusion, and leveled a halfhearted glare at her brother, Jamie. He was standing just a few feet behind her, peering over her shoulder at what she was drawing. Sophie huffed, and hunched over, protecting her drawing from his prying eyes.

"Get out of my room! You know I don't like it when people watch me draw!"

_Especially the ones that tell me to stop drawing what I like_. She added sourly.

She could practically hear Jamie roll his eyes behind her. Instead of listening to her, he ventured further into her room, which were littered with her drawings. Sophie was not a particularly tidy person (everybody knew it), and when she'd run out of space to pin her drawings on the walls, she'd taken to pinning them up all over the ceiling. . . and the floor.

Jamie's foot landed on a piece of paper, and Sophie shot up, alarm flashing through her. To Jamie's credit, he actually looked a little ashamed that he'd accidentally stepped on one of her drawings. His guilt dissipated in a heartbeat as he peered down and saw just _what _the drawing was, and he snatched it up angrily off the floor.

". . . the Easter Bunny? _Really?_" He asked, voice deadpan.

Sophie felt heat rush through her cheeks, and she glared at her brother, irritation rising.

"What's it matter to you what I draw, anyway?" She snapped, getting off her bed, "They're _my _drawings. If you're just going to be in my room and make fun of me, Jamie, then get out!"

She marched over to him and snatched the poor, crumpled sketch out of his hands, and began to smooth out the crinkles. Jamie snorted, bristling with his own irritation.

"You need to grow up, Sophie. There's no such thing as the Easter Bunny, the Toothfairy, _or _Santa Claus."

Shooting him an irate glance, Sophie laid the paper underneath a heavy textbook, to give it better chances of flattening out. After she took care of her drawing, she rounded on her brother.

"You believed in them. A lot, actually. I remember when you used to tell me stories about the Easter Bunny-"

At that, Jamie threw his hands up into the air in exasperation, and rolled his eyes to the sky, as if seeking help from some unseen deity.

"I'm _done _trying to explain this to you, Sophie. They're not _real! _You're fifteen already, get a grip! You're too old to believe in these fairy tales anymore!"

"Almost sixteen," She corrected automatically, "And I don't care! Get _out_, Jamie!"

She took to giving her brother a heavy shoe in the arm to get him moving, and it seemed to work. The nineteen-year-old roadblock reluctantly allowed himself to be shoved, and Sophie vehemently intended to slam the door in his face. At the door frame, however, her brother paused, and gave her a pitying glance.

"You can't believe in these lies forever, Sophie. You'll understand that soon."

She stared defiantly up at him, itching to shove him another two inches so she could wrap her hands around her door.

"I _can_, and I _will_." She growled.

She grabbed her door, intent on extracting her petty revenge, but Jamie shrugged, brushing their encounter off easily. But Jamie, as if knowing what she planned on doing, did an abrupt heel turn and started walking down the hallway.

"Dinner's ready." He said offhandedly.

Inwardly, she screamed with frustration. _He knew I was going to slam the door in his face!_

Giving an exasperated sound, Sophie turned back to her room and strode over to her bed, where she began to pick up all of her coloring supplies. There, her most recent drawing stood out to her. It was a beautiful hummingbird that looked more like a person than an animal, but it was hard to make out, as all of the multicolored winds absorbed every facet of her human-like attributes.

Sophie ran her fingers lightly over what might have been a woman's face, and she frowned.

Maybe Jamie was right in saying that she needed to give up the lies she'd been clinging to for so, so long. Jamie had given it up, as had every other kid on the block. Most days, Sophie felt like she was all alone in the world, the only person who still believed in fairy tales. Her room was like a weird, childish shrine, really, as every drawing detailed a different myth she believed in. Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy. . . there were a few more, but she didn't have names for them.

She chewed on the inside of her cheek as she stared at the drawings, at the years of love and devotion she'd poured into them.

"No." She whispered to the quiet room.

_Jamie can say what he wants. I remember. . ._

They were just small, little wisps of memory, but they were memories all the same. She remembered a humid, shaded place, filled with the quiet _clickclack _of feet, and beautiful colors in every hue. It was that memory that always gave her the inspiration to draw in color, to never be afraid to venture into something new and unknown.

She remembered voices, and even Jamie, too.

When she'd asked him about it, Jamie had only rolled his eyes, shaken his head, and told her to stop daydreaming.

"Sophie! Dinner!" Her mother's voice floated from the kitchen.

She left her room, turning out the light as she did so, and smiled at her drawings.

"People have given up hope on you. But I haven't."

She left, closing her door just slightly, allowing her nightlight to bathe her room in a soft, stained-glass glow.

* * *

Darkness pooled, surging and ebbing.

Down, deep in the dark recesses of the world, the shadows swirled in agitation, infuriated and angry.

- _This cannot be. -_

- Our task was done! -

- HE defies us again. -

Viscous as oil, the darkness slithered through the tunnels, growing in size as it continued downward.

Soon, the patch of black reached an atrium, where sharp, jutting ledges strained from the ceiling, threatening to slice anyone who ventured near. These spikes guarded the ultimate treasure that belonged to the darkness.

the world.

A globe, constructed of metal forged from desperate times and places, spun, dark and empty. Just a few years prior, the globe had been a beacon of light, hundreds of children shimmering in the darkness. The faint illumination always stung the shadows, biting into its body with fangs as sharp as a snake.

But soon, _soon_, those lights had faded, one by one.

But now. . .

On command, the globe rotated, and then stopped.

- _There. -_

- It waits. -

- We must stop this infection. -

- This world is ours! -

A tiny, flickering light blossomed from the darkness.

The plague would begin anew. Children would believe, and _their _strength would return.

From the darkness, a pair of thin, spindly hands came to caress the globe, gently tracing around the light.

Shedding the shadows he'd hibernated in, Pitch smiled, something cold and anticipating.

"I've waited for this moment," He said, words smooth as silk, "I came out of my sleep just for you, dear child."

He chuckled as he began to reform, body shaping once more.

"Now, my sweet, sweet little human. . . let's have a little _fun_." His lips spread into a smile, sharpened, pearly white teeth glimmering in the light from the globe. 


	2. The Hunt

**Belief  
**

**Rating: **T

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this. I really wish I did, though.

**Author's Notes**: Action happens pretty fast in this story, because I want to get the ball rolling!

Who's excited?

I'm excited. Thanks to my first two reviewers. Buckle up, because there ain't no gettin' off this train we on 'till the end of the line!

* * *

**The Hunt  
**

"Beware the dark pool at the bottom of our hearts. In its icy, black depths dwell strange and twisted creatures it is best not to disturb."  
-Sue Grafton

* * *

_It was cold._

_That was the first thing Sophie noticed when she opened her eyes. She idly wondered if she was dreaming, because there was no way that she was standing waist-deep in snow. It just wasn't possible. It was spring back in Burgess, and although the days were cold, they were sunny and foretold of summer. Sophie shivered, watching as her breath misted in the air in front of her._

_Snow crunched as she moved, and a harsh, biting wind snapped at her, stinging her skin. Sophie looked around, aimlessly wandering. It didn't take very long for her to start shivering, or her jaw to start clattering._

_"H-Hello?" She called._

_The howl of the wind was her only reply._

_"I'm lost! Somebody please help me!" She yelled._

CRACK.

_Sophie was so startled, she jumped ten feet in the air and spun around, heart racing wildly. Behind her, the ripping winds began to subside, and she could see a giant wall of ice. It scared Sophie to look at - the ice was black as black could be._

What kind of ice is pitch black?_ Still, she waded forward, as she knew something was on the other side. Dreams were funny that way._

_"Is somebody there? I'm really cold." She shouted again, her voice echoing in the air around her. As she neared the ice block, she could see her reflection on the dark, glossy surface. Her eyes were wide with fear and excitement, and her hair was dusted with a fine crown of powdery snow. As she drew nearer, she found an ungodly amount of heat radiated from the ice, as though it were alive._

_She reached a hand forward to lay on the black ice, just to warm her hand up, when it shivered._

_Sophie let loose a surprised shriek as the ice _moved_, and suddenly sharp, jagged ends were jutting from it, intent on impaling her. She fell backward, throwing up her arms to defend herself, when another deafening CRACK sounded through the air. The black ice groaned, and the spikes receded. She could see a large crack forming, spreading down, and through that crack, she could see a faint light, blue and white-_

_She gasped as she kept falling, the snow swallowing her up, and Sophie struggled, fighting to breathe-_

"Wah!"

Sophie let loose a surprised gasp as she hit the floor of her room with a harsh _thunk_. She groaned as she rubbed at her temple, and cast a surly look down to her blankets, which were tangled up around her. _My blankets gave me a stupid nightmare!_

Prying herself free from them, Sophie stood, running fingers through her messy blonde hair. She paused when she found that her hair was. . . wet. She frowned as she looked at her hand, finding cold water droplets. Giving an exasperated noise, Sophie wiped her hands on her bed and grumbled. _Apparently I got a nightmare _and _sweated a lot. Ew!_

A quick shower was in order, she decided.

And after that, she was going to draw everything that she'd seen. For all the nasty things that dream had just put her through, she'd never seen ice that black. . .

Snatching up a towel and a change of clothes, Sophie headed off to the bathroom, intent on using up a good 30 minutes of scalding hot water. She was freezing.

* * *

Sophie felt much more refreshed as she headed downstairs. She was dressed in her favorite pair of paint-splattered jeans, her favorite pink cami, _and _her favorite deep purple one on top of that. Sophie loved colors, there was no denying that. Her mother's favorite hobby was pulling out old pictures of her, wearing leggins, tutus, and fairy wings, and show them to anybody who would sit still long enough.

It was entertaining to Sophie, really. . . she still had those fairy wings in her closet. What girl her age didn't want to be a fairy?

Dragging herself into the kitchen, Sophie was greeted by the smiling face of her mother.

"Good morning, sleepyhead. I thought I heard a thump - did you fall out of bed again?"

"Yup." Sophie said, popping the 'p.' She seated herself at the table, where milk and cereal were already waiting. She helped herself to some, omitting to her mother that she'd had a nightmare. It wasn't uncommon for her to roll out of bed.

"Strange. You haven't done that in a few months. Ah, well. Maybe it was just a one-time thing, huh?"

Sophie hummed in agreement. She was tucking into her cereal when Jamie chose to walk in, looking like death warmed over. Sophie paused, looking up, as did her mother.

"Jamie, are you alright?" She asked. Her son shot her an exhausted stare.

"Yeah, Mom. Just tired. Been having bad dreams lately."

"Well, I know they'll go away soon. You're just stressed from college, that's all."

Jamie had been applying to colleges in the area, but had been shot down, again and again. Sophie honestly hoped he found one - because, hell, he _was _her brother after all and she did love him - but she really didn't think that it excused him from being such a jerk lately. Any chance Jamie got to be snappish with her, he did. And their little spat over her drawings a few days ago certainly hadn't helped matters either.

"Sophie. . . don't you have to go to the egg hunt today?"

The blonde looked at her mother, confused, but realization dawned on her.

"The egg hunt! I almost forgot! I'll be back soon!"

Sophie inhaled her cereal, and jumped up from her seat, almost knocking it over. Jamie eyes her, almost a glare, but Sophie waved it off. Her mother offered her her hoodie, and Sophie accepted the equally paint-splattered clothing. Throwing it on, she ran out the backdoor, giving a hasty, 'bye! Be back later!'

She vaguely heard her mother saying Jamie would be there to pick her up in an hour or two, but she didn't pay it much mind.

Sophie jumped on her bike and started riding through town, heading to the park. While plenty of parents organized the egg hunt, she loved being able to help the little kids find the eggs. It made her so happy to watch their little faces light up in delight. Sophie booked it through Burgess, and made it to the park in record timing.

Leaning her bike up against the fence, she entered the park to find it a hub of activity, parents already setting up the decorations.

"I'm here!" She shouted, announcing her presence, "What can I do to help?"

"Oh, Sophie. There you are. Slept in, did you?" A woman next to her chided.

Sophie smiled, abashed.

"Sorry, Mrs. Lanson."

Meredith Lanson laughed, brushing it off.

"We all have those days, love. Come on, then. Help me set up the food table, and then we'll hide those eggs."

Sophie threw herself into the task with glee, erecting the food and drink table as quickly as she could. Shortly after, she had bundles of eggs in her arms, and she was gently tucking them away, hiding the surprises in slightly obvious places. Task finished, she returned to the center of the park, where the kids were already waiting, baskets in hand.

She frowned when she saw a good amount of the kids didn't really seem. . . into it. Heck, even cheery Mrs. Lanson just looked like she was going through the motions. Coming to stand by the food table, Sophie swiped up a cookie and began nibbling on it. _Everybody just looks so. . . depressed._

The kids wandered into the park, searching for the eggs, and those that found them, looked. . . like they didn't really care. Sophie's frown increased, and she stared at a small group of kids, probably no more than 8 years old, that turned over an egg in their hands.

". . . a what now?" One of them said.

"I dunno," Another piped in, "That sounds really weird."

"It's true! I think. It's a chicken."

Curious, Sophie wandered over, following behind them as they ventured a little further into the park.

"No it's not!" The last one protested, "It _has _to be a fox."

"What's a fox?" Sophie asked.

The kids turned to her, and exchanged glances before answering.

"What hides the eggs on Easter. It's a fox." One of the kids supplied.

Sophie stood, completely shocked. _No way!_

. . . _somebody has to teach them the right thing!_

Sophie shook her head, and then sank down into a crouch, giving a few tentative hops.

"Let's see if you can guess! I have big, long, floppy ears, and I hop around-"

"A bunny?" One of the girls asked.

"Exactly! The Easter Bunny!" Sophie replied, hopping up and grinning.

The kids looked at each other, uncertain.

"A bunny hides the eggs?"

Sophie giggled.

"Not just a bunny. He can be any kind of bunny that you want. He's not just a fluffy little bunny. To me, he's taller than I am, and can go anywhere in the world in a heartbeat! He can fight monsters, and isn't afraid to protect little kids that hide in the dark!"

Sophie gave a few imaginary punches, and grinned down at the kids.

The girls looked dubious, but one of the boys paused, and then looked down at his basket.

"Can. . . can he be a robot bunny?"

"Why not?" Sophie said, spreading her arms wide, "He can be anything you want him to be! That's the magic. If you believe, he can be whatever you believe!"

"I want a bunny that has a gun!" The other boy said, "So he can go _pewpewpew_."

"Why?" One of the girls replied, wrinkling her nose, "I think he should be a _she_. With bows!"

"And wearing a cute little dress!" The other girl gushed.

"Come, my bunnies, let's find those eggs!" Sophie cried, gesturing grandly to the forest.

The kids cheered, and Sophie couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. The girls began to hop like little rabbits, and the boys pretended they were "commando rabbits" (because it was manlier), and together, the group began to seek out eggs together, with Sophie lavishing tales of a kick-butt Easter Bunny.

". . . and he protects your dreams!"

"He doesn't just hide eggs?"

"No!" Sophie replied, "He's there to help fight all of the monsters you're afraid of, too. What monster would suspect a big bunny?"

"Stop lying, Sophie."

Sophie stopped, the smile dying on her face, as she turned and found Jamie standing there, car keys in hand. _Did time go by that fast? Really? _Sophie stood there, her small group of kids stopping beside her, and they turned to look up at her.

"Lying?" One of them repeated.

"She's telling you a story," Jamie said, before she could respond, "None of it's real."

Sophie's mouth moved, but no words came out. The kids, like a popped balloon, looked down at the ground and sighed. The girls were already walking away, and the boys took their lead.

"It's okay," One of them said, "I like the idea of a fox better, anyway."

She shook her head, feeling absolutely crushed. Rage coursed through her, and she rounded on Jamie.

"Why did you do that, Jamie? They were having _fun_!"

Jamie looked at her, eyes unusually cold.

"I'm saving them from learning about it later. It'll hurt less."

Sophie wanted to shriek. She wanted to hit him, knock out a tooth, and fling a quarter in his face. She wanted to do a lot of things right then, but she knew all of them were bad. Gritting her teeth, she stormed past her brother, and strode towards the park entrance. If Jamie were there, that meant it was clear for her to leave.

"Where are you going? I drove over here for you!" Jamie protested, calling out to her.

"Then drive home! I have my _bike_." She snarled.

Jamie didn't stop her from walking away. Or from getting on her bike.

And for some reason, that hurt Sophie even more.

* * *

It was night by the time Sophie decided to return home. Their mother was still at work, and would be, for another few hours yet. But Sophie, mad at Jamie as she was, didn't want to worry their mom. She leaned her bike up against the side of the house, and entered through the backdoor, irrationally hoping that her brother wouldn't be home, but his car was in the driveway.

She sighed as she entered, and made a beeline for her bedroom. She wasn't in the mood to eat anything, or to even talk. She just wanted to sit on her bed and draw her worries away.

In the hallway, she found Jamie, arms crossed, expression glowering.

"Where were you?"

"None of your business." She snapped, shoving past him.

Jamie followed her.

"It _is _my business. You were gone for six hours. I called you. I texted you. You didn't even answer your phone! I was worried!"

"Well, stop worrying. I was busy in my dreamland, jerk!" Sophie yelled, slamming the door.

In his face.

_Revenge is a dish best served cold._

Sophie made it over to her bed before her door opened, and Jamie let himself in. Sophie avidly ignored him, and picked up a drawing, which she began to color.

"Look, Sophie. You can just run off like that. What if something happened to you? I would have been responsible."

_Like you've ever cared before, _Sophie thought peevishly, hands flicking over the paper in agitation.

"Sophie, look at me."

_No._

"Sophie, damnit, _stop drawing!_"

In a move totally unlike Jamie, he reached down and snatched the paper out of her hands. Sophie actually gasped, and stared up at her brother, who looked nothing short of furious.

"Why can't you see that I'm trying to help you? Why won't you just _stop?!_"

She felt tears pricking at her eyes.

There was no way she was seeing what she thought she did.

Jamie. . .

Jamie ripped the drawing. . . _in half._

It had been the beautiful hummingbird-woman, but now she was a torn, crumpled mess fluttering to the floor.

Sophie shook her head in denial, staring up at her brother. No.

_No, no, no!_

A sob left her, and she jumped off of her bed and ran down the hallway. Before she was even aware of what she was doing, she was bolting out the backdoor and running down the street. . . and Jamie didn't even call out after her. Sophie walked down the sidewalk, hiccuping and crying, trying - in vain - to wipe hot tears from her cheek.

Lately, Jamie had been mean to her, but he'd never been _cruel_.

Sophie walked alone, crying. She'd have to go home before her mother got back, but she just. . . couldn't be alone with Jamie right now. Lately he'd been getting more and more angry with the world, with everything. Especially with her. This had been their first big fight in a while, and with all of the bickering that had happened the past couple of days, Sophie felt like she was allowed a little time alone to cry.

She stopped after a while, leaning up against a street light, and tried to calm herself down. After a few minutes, it worked, and the tears began to stop. She scrubbed at what was left of her tears, and then leaned up against the metal pole fully. She'd have to go home soon. Her mother was going to come back, and Sophie wasn't going to make her worry.

_But Jamie will be there. . ._

She started to prepare a speech in her head, rehearsing what she would say to her brother about the fight they'd just had.

And that was when the light above her flickered.

Sophie scrubbed at her cheek and stared up at it, watching as the bulb struggled to come back to life. She jumped when she heard a _pop_, and noticed the light a little ways down the street had gone out. Under it, the shadows seemed to. . .

She shook her head.

No, she needed to get her act together. She had to stop thinking like-

_Pop._

Pop pop pop pop.

The lights all along the street were going out, one by one, and soon, hers was the only one that was lit. Sophie felt fear clogging up her throat, and she pressed herself a little more tightly against the metal pole, desperately praying and wishing that the light above her did not go out. It continued to splutter, dimming and fizzling, but remained lit.

Around her, the shadows seemed to writhe. Surely, she had to be wrong. There was no way that the small pool of light she was standing in was being breached by oily-looking darkness.

"I'm dreaming," She whispered to herself, "O-Or Jamie's trying to scare me."

She heard the very distinct sound of metal rasping against the asphalt. Sophie struggled to breathe.

And then, before her, a figure rose from the ground. He was tall, over 6 feet, and completely covered in shadows. Sophie let out a small sound of fear as she clutched at the streetlight. She knew who it was. But there was no way he could be real.

The Shadowman stepped forward, into the light, and Sophie felt like crying all over again.

Black leather covered him, a ratty, black cape billowing out behind him. In his gloved hands, he held a shiny, sharp sword. . . dripping with blood.

He began to advance, and Sophie desperately looked for an escape, somewhere for her to run.

Before she could blink, that bloody sword flashed in the light, and struck her.

She pulled to the side at the last moment, but cried out in pain as the sword bit into her. She fell onto the ground, writhing in pain, and cast a quick look down at her leg. She had a deep cut from the top of her thigh down to her knee, and blood was already staining her jeans and falling on the ground.

She heard heavy bootfalls again, and looked up to find herself staring into a formless, shadowed face.

"P-Please," She said, dizziness sweeping through her, "D-Don't."

He lifted the sword again, and Sophie closed her eyes.

She heard it clash against something, letting out a hollow _klang! _but Sophie was too afraid to open her eyes. Her leg hurt, she felt cold, and she could feel herself crying all over again.

Reality was just too much.

Sophie let her head fall back, and the world slipped from her fingers.

* * *

The Shadowman stepped back, and sheathed his sword. There was no need for it anymore. After all, his master had arrived. The darkness swirled, and from them, Pitch emerged. He let out a tired sigh, as though he were already bored of this game.

"I send you out to kill a single child, and you fail. What use are you?"

The Shadowman remained silent. Pitch chuckled.

"Still, just look at you. This town has some wonderful beliefs in monsters, don't they? Poor children, fearing the wrath of the Shadowman. . . that's why you don't venture out at night."

Pitch walked forward, coming to stand in front of his creation. The smile on his face disappeared, and a scowl replaced it.

"Now tell me why you couldn't kill one single little _girl_."

A gloved hand lifted and pointed.

Pitch stifled his irritation to look at a stain of blood on the ground, where the girl must have been injured, but there. . .

Interest ignited. He knew that cloud of blue and purple. The light stung, but he approached it anyway, and knelt before it, examining it closely. Ancient symbols and glyphs flashed in the cloud, telling of a very quick spoken word to teleport them away. Memories stirred, and when it click, Pitch grinned. He reached forward and wafted his hand through the cloud.

"Ah, yes, my cellmate. It's a pleasure to see you again. . . this game just got a little interesting, didn't it?"

Normally, Pitch would be furious that his plan hadn't been carried out to the letter. But this unexpected divergence from it. . . well, he enjoyed a bit of sport every now and then.

Plus, it would be more than entertaining to strip another thing from that ridiculous child he so desired to torture.

Pitch turned his eyes to the moon, quickly being obscured by black clouds, and offered a challenging smile.

"How silly of you. I'll dispose of them both. . . and then this world really will belong to me."

The clouds finally blocked the waning moon, which glowed brighter in protest, but only for a moment.

And then the darkness of night seized the town.


	3. Autophobia (Autophobia, I)

**Belief  
**

**Rating: **T

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this. I really wish I did, though.

**Author's Notes**: I wasn't quite intending for this chapter to be a two-parter, but I guess that's what it's turning out to be! You're in luck - I'm snowed in, and I can only focus on my homework for so long.

Thank you, everyone, that reviewed! It was really rad. So, in return, I give you, Auotophobia.

ALTHOUGH I WILL SAY, the chpt. title will probably change next one that's uploaded, but I'll put Autophobia in parenthesis so we can keep things tidy. Anyway, on with the show!

I promise I'll try to update as frequently as I can. And patience. Sophie will run into the Guardians soon, just not in the way you expect!

* * *

**Autophobia  
**

"Fear cuts deeper than a sword does."  
-George R.R Martin

* * *

Pain.

It was the first thing that came back to her.

Sophie groaned as her leg flared in agony. _What did I _do? _Did I fall off the bed again or something?_

She winced as she opened her eyes. Not only did her leg flare up in protest, but she felt like her head was pounding, and _man_, she felt sick. Like she was going to hurl at any moment. Using her elbows, Sophie carefully propped herself up into a sitting position, and hissed when her leg screamed at her in defiance. _Okay, there's no way I just fell on it. No way at. . . all. . ._

Her eyes went wide when she realized her leg wasn't bruised or anything along those lines at all.

It was bandaged.

Sophie sat there and stared. When did she cut open her leg? More so, why was the bandage so _big_? It had to be a good foot and a half long, at the very least. Her jeans lay sliced open beside her leg, stained heavily with dried blood. Her hands shook as she reached for the gauze and slowly lifted the dirty brown cloth up. In her chest, her heart sped up, and Sophie had to swallow against a tightness in her throat. What had happened to her leg?

She let loose a strangled gasp as she saw a thick, deep, ugly cut, almost as long as the gauze was. Her hands trembled as she dropped the bandage again. _Just what the hell happened to me?_

Sophie's hands dropped to her sides to support her, and her fingers hit a thin bedspread.

It was then that she realized she was most certainly not in her bedroom.

She was in a bumpy rock cavern, and everywhere she looked, it stretched all around her. Her heart beat like a frantic bird in her chest, and her fear clogged her throat. _Have I been kidnapped? Oh my god, I'm kidnapped! Mom and Jamie must be so worried!_

"_Stop lying, Sophie_." Jamie's voice echoed in her mind.

In a flash, Sophie remembered herself sobbing, and a terrible, final sound of paper being torn. In her mind's eye, she could see the semi-humanoid of a hummingbird woman, ripped neatly in two, fluttering to the ground, crumpled and forlorn.

As if that were the dam breaking, memories flooded Sophie. She sat there, completely dumbfounded, as she recalled everything. Jamie, the kids, Easter, her paper. . . even the Shadowman.

_I've been kidnapped by the Shadowman._

He'd taken her to a cave. But how? And why? Her head throbbed, and Sophie rubbed at her temples idly.

"I don't understand." She said, her voice warbling.

She felt like she was going to cry. She was going to get sick and she was going to cry. With what had happened last night, combined with waking up all by herself in some creepy cave - it was just too much for her to take in. Water dripped on her bare thigh, and with a start, Sophie saw that she _was _crying. She scrubbed at her cheeks in vain, but the tears just kept falling.

The world was a horrible, nasty thing to deal with sometimes, and what with sudden supernatural monsters added into it, Sophie really didn't want to put up with it anymore.

She hunched over as she cried, burying her face into her hands, and sobbed.

And that was why she didn't notice the light at first.

It wasn't until she felt a soft, warm breeze brush over her hand did she finally look up - and blink in shock. The cave around her had burst into life, beautiful shades of blue and purples pulsing over the walls. The colorful display constantly shifted shape and form, reassuring and beautiful. Sophie looked at the calm, soothing display, and momentarily lost herself in the color. She'd never seen anything so vibrant in her life.

She heard a small footstep, and her head whipped to the right.

"H-Hello?" Sophie said, her voice quiet and small in the bright cave. Her fear pulsed inside her again, warning her of her last encounter with the Burgess's personal boogeyman.

There was a bend she couldn't see around, guarded by a rock. She heard another shuffle, and then a small hand held out a handkerchief in the air and shook it gently.

_That's not the Shadowman. _

A head peeked out behind the rock, and Sophie reeled in surprise. White, unruly hair hung in messy strands around a boyish face, and he wore clothes Sophie had never seen before. But more than that, he exuded some kind of inner light, and on the surface, his skin looked almost. . . blue. He smiled as he saw her, and emerged fully from behind the rock. In his other hand, he held a staff, but as he drew near, he offered the piece of cloth to her.

Sophie accepted it gingerly, and wiped at her face.

"Who're you?" She asked, peering up at the mysterious stranger.

He beamed, and the lights in the cave seemed to glow all the more brightly. With a wave of his hand, a nimbus appeared in the air. From it, Sophie could see her bedroom wall. It panned down, just like a video, and focused exclusively on her nightlight.

"My nightlight?" She asked, puzzled.

He nodded his head, hair bouncing as he did.

Sophie looked at the flickering image, and then to the stranger again, brow furrowing. She shook her head.

"I don't get it."

_Funny, how I don't think this is weird. . . _But that was probably because she'd come face to face with the town legend, the Shadowman. In comparison, this seemed pretty tame.

The boy - teen? Man? She didn't know what to call him - patted his chest, as if to indicate _me_.

"Your. . ." She cast another look at the image in the air, ". . . name is. . . Nightlight?"

He jumped in the air, ecstatic, and the mist exploded into happy fireworks. Still grinning, he quickly seated himself beside her, setting down his wooden staff. Inquisitively, he reached for her gauze bandage, slowly, and looked up at her. Sophie nodded, indicating it was okay. She wasn't quite sure how she knew, but she was positive that Nightlight had been the one to save her from the Shadowman.

He wasn't out to hurt her or kill her - he would've done that by now. Besides, he'd been kind enough to bandage up her leg. His intentions were good.

He lifted up the bandage, and with a swirl of his hands, ghosted his fingertips over the cut. Sophie grimaced as pain shot through her, but it dulled a moment later. Little bands of blue and purple wove over her skin, looking like the world's coolest, _moving _tattoo.

"Wow! That's incredible!" She said, awestruck. Sophie probed at the tattoo, watching as wriggling glyphs constantly changed form, but Nightlight tapped on her hand.

He waved his hand in the air, and another cloud formed. She could see an image of the Shadowman, lifting up his sword and bringing it down. The image froze, and zoomed up close to the blade, which was seething with a dark energy. Sophie peered at the images, and then down to her leg, where the glowing bands of light constantly moved. With the light, she could see the cut much more clearly now, and in the depths of it, Sophie was positive that there was black sludge of some kind.

"What's that?" She asked, fearful, "Am I infected with something?"

Nightlight shook his head.

The mist changed again, showing a picture of her laying there, and her leg bleeding profusely.

_I really need to play charades more._

She wracked her brain, trying to figure out what he was saying. She glanced down at her leg, and saw the dried - and fresh - blood caked onto her destroyed jeans.

"It. . . makes me. . . bleed all the time?"

Nightlight nodded his head.

_Okay._

"And this'll help me?" She asked, pointing to her tattoo.

Nightlight nodded his head again.

"Okay. Got it. Uhm. . . Do you have another pair of pants laying around? This one's almost split up to the band. . ." Revealing quite a lot of her leg in the process, too.

Almost as though he'd been waiting for her to ask, Nightlight wiggled his hands, and the mist turned opaque. The cloud dissipated with a small _poof_, and a pair of jeans dropped into his waiting hands. He offered it out to her. Sophie couldn't help the small smile that twitched the corners of her mouth. While these new jeans looked whole, clean, and free of paint, they were a pair of pants, and she was grateful for it.

"Pretty cool trick. Thanks."

Wordlessly, Nightlight got up and left, disappearing behind the rock again to give her some privacy. Sophie took the chance and stood, shucking off her old jeans (and shedding a mental tear at losing that colorful bad boy), she slipped on the newer, cleaner pair. Small twinges of pain struck her as she moved every now and then, but there was nothing that could be helped about that.

In any case, the pants fit perfectly. The only disconcerting thing was that Nightlight's tattoo shone through the fabric a little. . . but it was a small price to pay, really.

Sophie stretched herself a little, feeling her muscles finally wake up. She walked up to the rock Nightlight was standing behind and looked at him.

"Thank you for saving me, but I have to get back to my home now. Mom and Jamie have to be really worried about me."

At that, Nightlight's ever-present smile faltered.

And, quite surprisingly, he shook his head.

"What? What do you mean, no? I have to go back! Mom'll be crying!"

Nightlight shook his head again, and anger curled in Sophie's stomach.

"I really am thankful that you saved me, but my mom'll be worried sick. I _have _to go back."

Another nimbus formed in the air, and the Shadowman stood there, a sinister reminder of what had happened the previous night.

Sophie shook her head defiantly.

"I don't care if he's there. I have to let my mom know I'm okay. Besides, I know about the Shadowman. If you have some rope with you, he won't touch you."

Nightlight quirked his head to the side.

"He was hanged, but his shadow stayed behind. He vowed to get revenge on those who wrongfully hanged him - he's scared of ropes."

Nightlight looked uncertain, and as the moments passed, he fiddled with his hands. Eventually, however, he nodded his head. The mist disappeared, and from some magical pocket on his body, he actually procured a piece of rope.

Slipping the rope into Sophie's grasp, he grabbed her free hand, and led her out of the caves, the light fading to black behind them.

* * *

Surprisingly, it didn't take long.

Nightlight led her out of the caves, and through a hike in the forest, which only seemed to last about thirty minutes or so. Every time she stumbled, or tripped, he was there to help her up again with an encouraging smile. Sophie chatted to fill the silence between them, talking about asinine things, hoping that he'd talk.

But no, her silent protector did not say a word.

Still, it felt odd that she'd trusted him so suddenly and fully, but he felt like the kind of guy who could be trusted. He wouldn't have gone through all that trouble to save her if he wasn't nice. But his very existence raised a lot of questions.

If this. . . supernatural boy was real, and the Shadowman were real. . . then who else was real?

It was what she mulled over as they walked. Nightlight answered her questions every now and then, but with only pictures as his guide, it made it nigh on impossible to guess what he was saying. But from what Sophie had gleaned of the night before, he had teleported them both to the cave, and the Shadowman had had no way of following them.

Meaning they'd been safe, but she'd been gone for well over a day, if she had to guess, which meant her mom and Jamie were going to be worried sick. It made Sophie redouble her pace, wanting to get home as quickly as possible.

This made Nightlight shake his head and share his displeasure, asking - in his special way - if they could turn around. Sophie, however, refused to relent. She clutched the piece of rope in her hands, confident it would work. If the Shadowman was _real_, then the rope would be more then enough.

Eventually, they began to draw closer to Burgess, and Nightlight became much more agitated.

He could defy gravity (another cool trick in his book), and did so often, following closely behind her, and trying to get her to turn around every few minutes.

"It'll be okay," Sophie said, as Burgess came into view, "So long as nobody sees you floating around. Mind walking? And for the last time, it'll be _fine_."

Nightlight obediently stepped back onto the ground, and walked alongside her, looking nervous. Sophie cast an anxious glance in his direction, her own restlessness rising. It nearly tripled as another human being came into view, but they didn't even spare a glance for the oddly-dressed boy at her side.

Sophie frowned, confused, as that person walked right by them, not even batting an eyelash. She wrote it off as a fluke, but the closer they got to Burgess's center, the more puzzled she became. It kept happening - people would just walk right now, and seemed completely blind to his presence.

"Can they even _see_ you?" She asked.

In response, Nightlight bounded up to the closest person and waved a hand in front of his face.

Sophie watched in awe as the person continued onward, not even bothering to address him.

"Wow. They really can't. . . why?"

For the first time since meeting him, Nightlight didn't answer. He only gave her a strained smile, and continued on his way. Sophie pressed on, holding the rope as tightly as she could in her hands. It was broad daylight out, but according to town legend, the Shadowman could strike at any time. It was less likely to happen, but still. . . Sophie redoubled her footsteps, quickening her pace.

Nightlight followed close behind her, a hand ghosting over her elbow to reassure her.

She didn't relax until they met her street, and Sophie sighed audible when her home back into view. _Sweet, sweet relief_, she thought. She picked up into a jog, wanting to full-out sprint to her house. Tangible relief flooded through her as she drew flush aside her house, she almost felt like crying all over again.

Finally! She was home! _Mom and Jamie are going to ground me for five months!_

It was a lot better than getting herself cut open by the Shadowman, that was for certain.

As luck would have it, both of their cars were in the driveway. Sophie had no idea if it was a weekend or not, but she took it as a good sign anyway. She broke into a job as she neared her door, and almost tumbled over herself as she scrambled it open.

"Mom!" Sophie shouted, "Mom, I'm home! Jamie!"

Silence greeted her.

There wasn't anybody in the kitchen or the living room, so Sophie continued to look through the house.

"Mom! Mommy, Jamie!" She called again, "I'm home!"

No answer.

Abently, Sophie heard Nightlight enter the house behind her, but that only spurred her into a run. She ducked into every room and searched for a sign of her mom or Jamie. Both of their cars were in the driveway. They _had _to be home. They had no other cars, and her mom never had time to take walks or do silly things. And Jamie never left the house anyway - so were _were _they?

Nightlight trailed alongside her, following as she checked every room in the house, and found them all empty.

"Where are you?" Sophie called out, fear clogging her throat, "Where did you. . . go. . ."

Nightlight clamped a hand down on her shoulder, preventing her from breaking into a run.

There, on the floor, written in a sticky, slightly gross-smelling black sludge, was an arrow. And it was pointing to her bedroom door.

It was the only room she hadn't checked.

Sophie looked at Nightlight, who stared grimly at the door. Seconds ticked by, dragging into an eternity, before the young boy looked at her and nodded his head.

Nightlight let her walk first, which only made Sophie all the more apprehensive. He wouldn't let her walk into danger. . . right? That had to be right.

Sophie breathed as evenly as she could as she approached her door, her footsteps so, _so_ loud in the quiet, still air of the house. It was as if everything were holding its breathe, waiting for her to push open the door. . .

It was ajar, so Sophie just pressed her fingertips to it.

And what she saw made her gasp and jump in fright.

All around, pictures of her mother and brother hung. Everything she'd ever drawn by hand had somehow been re-purposed to look like her mother or her brother. Every pictureframe she ever had had a photo of them in it. Every single drawing of her surreal and dream-like visions were no more. Instead, her mother and brother hung in some sort of demented shrine, expressions reflecting a dull, terrified gleam.

"W-What. . . What?" she stuttered, unable to form the right words.

No.

No, no, _no._

Somebody was doing this to mess with her. They had to be. They weren't dead or anything, they were just - just. . . . !  
_  
_With a cry, Sophie flung herself against the nearest wall and ripped down a plethora of her mother and brother, breathing heavily. Finished, she leaned against the wall, heaving, and viciously flicked her hands to get rid of the sticky paper. . . and noticed more black sludge. On her skin. Frowning, she turned over her hands and discovered more of the black slime acting as an adhesive.

She looked up at the wall, and saw what only could be something of a line for a letter.

She straightened and looked at the wall.

Nightlight joined her side, and together, the pair of them ripped down more of the creepy drawings, revealing a hidden message.

"_Isn't your greatest fear being alone?_" The crude message asked, black letters glimmering wetly in the light.

Sophie's knees wouldn't support her anymore.

She sank onto the floor and cried, sobbing loudly, her voice the only noise in her big, empty home.


	4. Autophobia (Autophobia, II)

**Belief  
**

**Rating: **T

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this. I really wish I did, though.

**Author's Notes**: Welcome to the second part of Autophobia! Thank you, everyone, for reviewing, and I hope you'll stay with me until the end. I really have some big plans for this story, and man, I can't wait to get to the juicy bits of it.

Updates will be a little slow. I'm splitting time between this fanfic, and my super-duper long one in the ThunderCats world. I know, I am a nerd, but ah well. As long as I can write fanfics, I'll be happy.

Anyway, updates will also be slow in regards to: THIS IS MY LEST SEMESTER OF UNIVERSITY! I am so happy. I get to walk in May! I only have about two months left before I enroll myself in a 6-day course, get another certificate behind my name, and start pursuing my career.

With this in mind, and please know, I am an English major, my professors are dishing out 6 - 10 page research papers left and right. I have four - FOUR - alone due this week. I balance precious, _precious _time between doing my homework and my job.

Excuses outta the way, here's the next chapter.

Poor, poor Sophie.

Gather your courage, girl.

It's all up to you, now.

* * *

**Autophobia  
**

"Fear cuts deeper than a sword does."  
-George R.R Martin

* * *

It was just too much for her to take in.

Sophie sat there and cried, sobbing her heart out. They were deep, gut-wrenching things, hardly a pretty cry at all. Already, she could feel her stomach and her throat aching from the pain, and in her chest, she swore she could feel her heart wrenching in two. Her fingers gripped tightly into her body, knuckles going white from the strain.  
_  
Why?_

What did I do to deserve this?

Mom and Jamie were gone, taken by. . . By something. Fear pierced her heart as a hazy image of the Shadowman danced in her head. What if he had taken them? He would have hanged them already, and she could see them, struggling to breathe, to find air, hands clawing desperately, eyes wide as they searched for her, begging for her to save them-

Sophie sobbed harder, the pain refreshing itself.

Absently, she heard a small jingle, and a hand touched her shoulder gently. She peered up to see Nightlight standing over her, looking concerned. She stared up at him, hiccuping, thoughts and emotions buzzing in her head. His hand began to lightly massage the shoulder he was touching, just running it up and down over her arm, trying to comfort her.

What the Shadowman had done, however. . .

In her pocket, she could still feel the piece of rope that Nightlight had given her. It weighed like a heavy stone against her skin, reminding her that she had a way of warding them off. Mom and Jamie hadn't even _known_. . .

Inexplicably, rage boiled in her chest. Mom and Jamie were dead, and it was that _monster's _fault. She was going to kill him, to rip his shadowy body into a thousand pieces and extract her revenge. In a flash, Sophie found the strength to stand, and she did, almost knocking Nightlight down. The glowing boy peered at her curiously, concern rising, but Sophie ignored him. Instead, she strode out of the room, still crying, and jammed her hand into her back pocket, grabbing the rope.

Behind her, Sophie could hear Nightlight jingling, his way of crying out in fear, and his hand latched onto her arm. She shook him aside roughly, and continued on her way, fury setting her blood to a hot boil. Taking out the piece of rope, Sophie shoved the backdoor open and shouldered her way outside, ignoring Nightlight's frantic noises behind her.

She stepped out onto the street, and found the object of her search standing just a few tens of feet away, in the shade of a grove of trees. Sophie stood there, letting her anger build, seething. Her knuckles turned white as she held the rope in her hands, the thick, coarse material biting into her skin.

_Let it. It's nothing compared to what Mom and Jamie felt._

She could still picture it, so vividly and clear, in her mind's eye. The way they struggled, the sound of their voices crying out in fear-

With a cry born of rage and sorrow, Sophie sprinted forward, clutching the rope tightly in her hands. The Shadowman drew one of his swords, the sound of blackened metal rasping in the air, but Sophie pressed forward. She had to. She _needed _to. She had to destroy this creature - for Mom. For Jamie.

The Shadowman reared back, holding his sword artistically in the air behind him, preparing to swing at her. When she got in range, he did, but Sophie somehow, impossibly, ducked under it. She didn't know any martial arts or self-defense techniques, but she had a piece of rope, and by god, she was going to use it. Sophie saw the second sword in his hand, prepping to impale her, but she opened her palm and smacked the Shadowman with it, pressing the rope against his chest.

Time stopped.

A dark blade sat inches from her stomach, threatening to pierce into her and end her life.

But the hand holding that blade began to shake, and with staggering steps, the Shadowman stepped away, swords dropping onto the ground. Sophie felt the rope elongating in her hand, darkened braids stretching it out and becoming a noose.

It was the Shadowman's greatest fear.

_I'm going to hang you again. I swear I will!_

Sophie lunged forward, fully intent on wrapping the noose around his shadowed head and hang him from a nearby tree. Before she could, however, he dropped to his knees, and let loose a terrible, nasty scream. It sounded like nails on a chalkboard, and made Sophie stagger, wincing at the sheer volume of it. A harsh gust of wind picked up, and in a climatic crescendo, he dissipated, falling to the ground in a pile of ash.

She heaved as she stared down at him, parts of the rope disintegrating in her hands. The Shadowman had lengthened it, his greatest fear playing in front of him, and now that he was gone, so too, was his power. Numbly, Sophie's hands dropped to her sides as she stared down at the piles of ashes, blowing away in the wind. Warmth slid down her cheeks, and with a start, she realized she was still crying. She hadn't stopped.

She'd failed. The Shadowman had escaped before she could kill him, and Mom and Jamie were still very much dead.

She just stood there and cried, didn't even hear when Nightlight's bells jingled next to her.

She jumped when he laid hands on her, fingers probing for injuries, but he found none. The battle - if one could call it that - had been short. Too short. Sophie kept crying as Nightlight wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her away. He guided her back across the street and into her house, where he sat her down on the couch.

Sophie let him push her down, and she simply laid there, letting the numb feeling overtake her body. She didn't want to feel anymore. She just wanted to stop living. What was the point in living if Mom and Jamie weren't there for her? Even though it was daylight outside, and only the afternoon, she felt a soft blanket drop on top of her, courtesy of Nightlight.

She glanced down, and blearily realized it was from her mother's bedroom. Without thinking, she buried her face in it, inhaling the scent of her. she closed her eyes as she wrapped herself up in it, not willing to separate from the last remainder of her mother. Nightlight's hand brushed over her forehead, as if urging her to sleep.

She wanted to open her mouth and beg for him not to leave her, to stay by her side, but she was just. . . too tired. Sophie closed her eyes, the sound of Nightlight's bells lulling her into a black, dreamless sleep.

* * *

She didn't dream like she normally did. There were no vibrant bursts of colors, or strange, humanoid faces begging her to draw and color them. No, there was only the darkness, and Sophie was okay with it.

She sat in it and she cried, enveloped wholly and completely by her grief.

She didn't want color. She didn't want to live in a world were Mom and Jamie weren't there to look at her with exasperated smiles on their faces and ask when she was going to grow up. She wanted to be with them. If they were dead, then she wanted to be dead, too. It wasn't fair to expect her to live on her own without a family to live beside her.

Yeah, she and Jamie might have fought, but he was still her _brother_, and blood was something you never turned your back on. Mom and told her that, for years and years.

"_We're all we have_," She'd said, running her fingers through a young Sophie's messy hair_, "We take care of each other. No matter how far away we are, or if we're in trouble, you always have to help each other_."

The memory made Sophie tense, and bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. She didn't want to remember her mother's tender, overworked hands, or the way she'd smelled - beautiful, and fragrant, like a flower. She didn't want to recall Jamie's slightly overprotective ways, or the times he'd driven her down to get an ice cream cone and walk her through the park.

She just wanted the numbness to be a part of her, for the darkness to completely engulf her.

A small piece of light, a little burst of color, drew her attention, and she looked up, tears running down her cheeks. In the air, she could see a tiny hummingbird, flitting to and fro in front of her, made entirely with splashes of color. The little bird zipped and dashed around in circles, and dove in close, brushing against her hands. Sophie buried her face in the haven of her arms again.

"Go 'way." She mumbled.

The humming bird made an angry little "dee dee dee" noise, and fluttered into place before her head, poking her.

Poke.

Poke poke.

Pokepokepokepoke-

"Enough!" Sophie exploded, jumping up, "Leave me alone! I want to _be alone! _I don't want anyone here!"

The hummingbird looked at her, flickering a delicate shade of melancholy blue, before slowly rising up to Sophie's eyes. If she looked hard enough, Sophie could swear that she could see a tiny face, and little, delicate hands. She blinked as the hummingbird drew closer, and instinctively, Sophie cupped her hands, providing a place for the small thing to rest on.

"Why can't you see that I want to be alone?" Sophie asked, brokenly, her voice cracking. "I'm sad."

The bird alighted on her skin, and making that strange little "dee dee dee" noise again, somehow pointed up.

Sophie looked, just to humor the thing, and noticed a muted ray of blue light. It was a beacon in the darkness, silently beckoning her to draw closer and enter it. She peered down at the hummingbird in her hand, who, _yes_, did have little hands, that tugged on her thumb, pulling her forward. It wanted her to go into the light.

Sophie peered at it, and the more she stared, the more entranced she was by it. It whispered to her, called her out of the darkness. The light promised her peace, told her it would ease her pain and suffering. Like a moth drawn to the flame, she began walking forward, the tiny hummingbird chirping happily in her hands. She she drew closer, the darkness began to ebb, overtaken with bright, luminescent splashes of color. The pain in her chest began to ease, and she breathed, happy to have the weight of her sorrow gone.

As she stepped into the light, it began to grow brighter and brighter, blinding her.

But Sophie wasn't afraid.

She opened her eyes, finding herself still laying on the couch, wrapped in her mother's blanket. The couch had been placed directly in front of a window, and through the glass panes, those beautiful, soothing rays of blue light splayed out over her. Sophie stood, shedding her mother's blanket. She had to go.

The light was calling her.

From the darkness, she heard Nightlight's jingling, and almost immediately, he was at her side. He smiled, and Sophie smiled back, but they had no time to waste. She began to walk, following the patches of the blue light. It was almost human, the way it touched her, as it would grace her skin, and a little more of her sadness would be wiped away by it.

Nightlight walked beside her as the light guided her outside, and into the forest.

She wasn't afraid. The light told her that there was nothing to be afraid of.

Where the light existed, the Shadowman could not. There was no way the darkness could harm her here. Nightlight kept up beside her, and together, the two of them made it deeper and deeper into the forest, the light guiding them through the trees and the trails. Idly, Sophie wondered if they were going back to Nightlight's cave, but the light continued pulling them, pulling them deeper into the forest.

Basked in the muted brightness, it shepherded them to. . . Burgess Pond?

It was a small place, just on the lip of town, crowded by trees, and out of sight. Only the neighborhood kids knew about it, as it was a popular place to swim in the summer, and a fun escape in the winter to skate on. Sophie hadn't been to it in ages, had been too busy. But the light pulled them to the shoreline, and above them, Sophie could see a beautiful, luminous full moon beaming down on them.

"Wow." She whispered.

Nightlight chuckled.

Surprise jolted through her, shaking off her trance-like state. "Nightlight! Y-You made a noise!"

"I did." He replied, amused smile on his face.

"And you spoke!"

"I did!"

His voice, Sophie reflected, was just like he was. Ethereal, and a strange combination between a boy and a man's. But it was pleasant to the ear, much like his bells, and she liked it. It suited him. Nightlight grinned at her, and touched her arm.

"I can speak when MIM is here. And he's here. To talk to you."

"Mimm?" She repeated, looking at him curiously. "Who's Mimm?"

The light moved, as if responding to her words, and tracked away from them, coming to rest on the water, where it gradually increased in strength.

"The Man in the Moon," Nightlight replied. "He's Earth's Guardian."

Sophie gasped as the light bounced off of Burgess Pond and began to project things into the air, filling the whole clearing with a wide myriad of images and colors. She was utterly lost to the beauty of it all, because everywhere she looked, she could see a new shape, a new color somebody had yet to discover - a thousand different things she'd swore she'd only seen in her dreams.

"This is incredible." She breathed, awestruck.

Nightlight nodded his head, proud smile pulling at his lips.

"MIM has grown so much since I've seen him last."

He craned his neck back, looking at the moon, and Sophie echoed the motion. _A man on the moon?_

"There's a man on the moon?" She repeated. It didn't make sense to her. None of it did.

Nightlight nodded again. "MIM is a special person. He protects Earth from Pitch."

"Pitch?"

Nightlight laughed, a tinkling sound that was both childish and manly at the same time. "I think it might be best if we start off at the beginning. It'll answer any questions you have. MIM?" Nightlight looked back up at the moon again, and the beams of light casting down from it changed.

From the pond, a strange, alien cross between a spaceship and a pirateship emerged. It zoomed in, and inside, Sophie could see a mother and a father, proudly looking down into a baby carriage. A happy, rotund little baby wiggled back and smiled at them.

"MIM was born to a dying world. So we set out to find a new one. He was a special little baby, Sophie. When he dreamed, he dreamed only good things. He did not have nightmares. King and Queen Aurelia made me to protect him, to make sure he had no bad dreams, but I was hardly needed."

The scene changed, showing Nightlight, glowing with an inner radiance of his own. He sang a song to the little baby, lulling the child to sleep. At her side, Nightlight smiled, but it was pained.

"What happened?" Sophie asked quietly, looking back at the beautiful projection.

"Pitch." Nightlight responded. "He sailed forth, hearing there was a child who had never had a nightmare. He was - is - the King of Nightmares, but humans know him better as the Boogeyman."

As he spoke, the projections showed a battle. Pitch stood on the bow of his ship, dressed in armor and a cape. Malicious yellow eyes stared at the innocent little baby that Nightlight held fearfully to his chest. In moments, the two projections had collided, and displayed a frantic rushing of Nightlight as he bundled the little baby into what looked like an escape pod.

"Queen Aurelia begged me to keep MIM safe. So, as Pitch battled the King and Queen, we fled. They lost, and Pitch chased us. During the fight, his ship was damaged, and he landed here, on Earth. MIM landed on the moon, and sent me down here, to keep Pitch contained. . . It didn't last."

Sophie watched as Pitch landed in something metallic and cold - a sphere of the world, it looked like, constructed entirely out of metal. Nightlight landed in front of it, and with a look of determination to his eye, leaned forward, dissipating. Within moments, he surrounded the metallic globe, each metal bar gleaming with a strong light as it kept the shadows inside at bay.

"You kept this. . . Pitch prisoner?" Sophie asked, looking at Nightlight.

"I did. For centuries." He replied.

Sophie was aghast. She could hardly imagine keeping someone - some_thing _- jailed for a day. A week. A month. But Nightlight had done it for hundreds of years. Sophie reached out and touched his arm, lightly, offering him just a little bit of comfort. It was the least she could do, for everything he'd done for her these past two days.

Nightlight smiled. "I still have to tell you the rest of the story."

"Okay."

He gestured to the projection, and as Sophie guessed, the light on the bars began to fade away. Eventually, the shadows inside sprang free, breaking out of the prison. Nightlight appeared, dazed and weak. Pitch loomed over him, but Nightlight battled back, grabbing his staff and waging war.

"Our battle didn't last long. But Pitch was strong, and I fell. MIM helped me recuperate, aided me in gaining back the strength I'd lost. Without his prison, Pitch descended on the world like a plague. But you see, Sophie, MIM knew this would happen. So he enlisted the Guardians to help protect the people - the children - of Earth."

_The Guardians. . . _That sounded familiar.

Her pictures danced in her head for just a moment as she watched the projection on the water split into five separate beams, and from the water, shapes formed, creating-

Sophie gasped again as she watched the objects of her drawings come to life in front of her.

"Oh my god!" she said, breathlessly, "That's the Easter Bunny! And Santa! The Tooth Fairy, too?! I drew all of these! Jamie said they were stupid stories, but I knew they were real!"

Nightlight chuckled.

"You don't remember, do you?" He asked.

"Remember what?"

He gestured to the water, and Sophie leaned over, watching as the surface clouded, and then came to life with color. She saw herself as a small child, running through a forest. . . no, that wasn't quite right. It was more like a jungle. She ran through a jungle, messy with glitter and colors, giggling, straight into the arms of. . .

"No way." She said, awestruck again. "No way!"

Nightlight only smiled.

"I knew the Easter Bunny? I can't. . . That's just incredible."

"Your brother believed in the Guardians, too. But when one of them failed to overcome Pitch, the Guardians fell, one by one. You see, Sophie, the belief from children is what makes them so strong. And when they grew weak, the belief of children waned. Without that strength, Pitch overpowered them."

In a way, it made sense. But it was like somebody telling Sophie she was adopted - it was a lot to take in, and she wasn't sure if she could process it all. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes, trying to make sense of it in her mind. Thoughts, questions, and emotions buzzed around in her brain, threatening to spill forth.

"Why. . . Why me?" She finally asked. "I don't understand."

"Because you're the only child who refused to stop believing. Even when everyone told you to stop believing, to grow up - you refused. That kind of power is dangerous, Sophie. You almost made other children start believing, too."

She remembered that day in the park, the egg hunt, when the children had looked at her with bright, excited faces. With just a few words, she'd almost gotten them to believe in the Easter Bunny. She would have told them about Santa, about the Tooth Fairy, regaled them with tales about the Sandman. . .

"But they didn't. So I don't. . . Pitch. He's doing this, isn't he?"

Nightlight's eyes grew flinty and hard.

"Yes. Belief is a dangerous thing, as it might prompt the Guardians to rise again. Pitch seeks to stop you. That is why he raised your town's legend of the. . . the Shadowman?"

_That night, when Jamie yelled at me. . ._

It was all beginning to click into place now, like a puzzle she hadn't noticed before. She chewed over it silently, wanting to resist what she'd learned. . . but she knew it was right. It was the only explanation. Plus, she could just _feel _it, down in her bones. It was the truth, and she knew it in her heart.

"But Pitch got what he wanted. He got. . ." She said, trying to say the words, but just the mere thought of Mom or Jamie made her throat close up and tears mist her vision.

"No. Pitch hasn't killed them."

"What?" She said, heart thundering in her chest.

Nightlight moved in close to her, laying both of his hands over her shoulders.

"I know Pitch, Sophie. I spent centuries listening to him mumble and talk to himself. The King of Nightmares wouldn't kill them. He'd want you to suffer. He's keeping them captive somewhere. I don't know where, but somewhere."

"I have to go and get them." She said. She felt anxious and fidgety, like she wanted to run to where they were and free them on the spot. Nightlight's fingers curled into her arms, holding her in place.

"You can't. To go there, Sophie, he'd kill you. That's what he plans on doing - killing the last piece of belief left in this world-"

"I can't stand around and do nothing!" She cried out, trying to dislodge herself from Nightlight. He let her, if only understanding that she needed her space.

Nightlight held up his hands, quelling her arguments, and looked at her seriously.

"I know. And I'm not. But if you want them back, Sophie, you can't go as you are. You need help."

The boy turned back to the lake, where the five projections stood again, and Sophie looked at them. She was a quick thinker, and the pieces clicked into place again.

"I have to find the Guardians? That'll take too long! Mom and Jamie could be dead or he could be torturing them-"

At that, Nightlight shook his head.

"Pitch likes theatrical displays. Trust me, Sophie. I spent hundreds of years with him. He'll want to do it, in front of you. And the Guardians are your only hope, Sophie. You're a human. He is the King of Nightmares. As you are, you stand little chance against him. But with their help. . ."

Sophie cycled through her emotions, one at a time. Rage. Impatience. Fear. She breathed in deeply as she examined the images of each of the Guardians, trying to put it all in its rightful place. The light from the moon washed over her, offering comfort. She was grateful for MIM, who had helped strip away her cocoon of grief.

But now she had a decision to make.

"Alright," She said, "I'll do it. If it's to save Jamie and Mom, I'll do it. When do I start?"

Nightlight smiled.

Sophie felt determination and courage pulsing through her. But she'd stood up to the Shadowman, so really, how different would it be to fight against Pitch?

_Mom, Jamie, hold on a little longer, okay?_

_I swear, I'm coming for you._


	5. Ward of the Warren, I

**Belief  
**

**Rating: **T

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this. I really wish I did, though.

**Author's Notes**: Two weeks, I told some reviewers.

Two weeks, I told myself.

"No, how about today?" Sophie told me.

So, today is the day. It will be a little bit before the next update, but I'll try to make it in the range of about two weeks, promise.

Until then, enjoy! And thank you to everyone who is reviewing. I'm so glad that you're liking Sophie's journey so far!

* * *

**Ward of the Warren, I  
**

"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls."  
-Anais Nin

* * *

"Why must everything you do bear the _stamp of incompetence!_"

Pitch's voice, laden with equal parts frustration and fury, reverberated through the cave, bouncing and echoing off the walls. Anger coursing through him, the Boogeyman reached for the nearest thing he could lay his hands on - a chair, oddly enough - and shoved it, flipping it over. It crashed to the ground, metal scraping as it slid over worn, weathered rock.

Before him, the Shadowman knelt, one knee touching the ground, his head bent. The display of submission did little to please Pitch, did nothing to stroke his ego. It only infuriated him.

"Why?" He hissed, stalking up to the man, "Why did I breathe life into you? Why did I _bother_? You've shown me nothing - nothing to show for it! Except this! Not one failure, but _two!"_

Nightmares rose, sensing their master's rising need to harm something. To shed blood. Pitch could see one eagerly pawing the ground, nostrils flaring, yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness.

The Shadowman said nothing, did not defend himself. It only angered Pitch more, knowing that this man could not speak, even if he wanted to. The King of Nightmares grit his teeth, breath hissing through them as he glared down at his failed monster.

"I told you," He gritted, "To _kill _her. I told you to drive her from the safety of that glowing lightbulb and to kill her! What did you do? You ran. You _ran _when some child threw a piece of rope at you! Tell me why I should bother to keep you?!"

Reaching down, Pitch seized the front of the man's clothes, the collar nearly imperceptible to decipher from the rest of his shadowy mass, and dragged him to his feet. In his hand, the Shadowman laid limp and submissive. His staff began to materialize in his hands, wispy pieces of darkness gathering to form the deadly weapon. Pitch seethed as he stared down his subordinate, tucking the sharp edge of the metal under his chin.

"I should kill you, you know. I should strike you here, now, cast you back into the nightmares of the children who only dreamed of you." He twisted his hand, and on his blade, blood dripped from where he'd wounded the creature. ". . . But I still have use of you yet."

With that, he dropped the Shadowman, who collapsed onto the floor in a mess. Shaking his hand, Pitch discarded of his staff, and turning on his heel, strode to the globe. There, the darkened continents of the world twirled silently, telling of his victory in killing the Guardians. His irritation rose as the world turned, and then stopped. A single, bright speck of light glimmered, defiant and refusing to extinguish.

His hands itched to rise to it, to snub it out with his thumb, but Pitch knew that would come with time.

He chuckled, voice low and sinister in the cave.

"Oh, precious little girl. Sweet, sweet believing, optimistic child. If you truly have faith in your conviction, then I, too, will rise to the challenge. This world is mine, human child, and if you desire this gauntlet, then a gauntlet you shall have."

Placing his hands on the world, a harsh, black wind rose. Every continent began to come alive, teeming with shadows, with the nightmares of thousands of children - until four little shadowy balls rose from the masses.

Pitch chuckled as he picked one up and toyed with it, rolling it around in his hands.

"Ah, yes. The nightmares of children. You humans always give life to creatures even I consider grotesque. Let me see your spirit, little girl. I so yearn to see it."

Flicking the shadow ball back to the globe, it sank into the earth, gaining life where there was none, and forming into a creature, a monster spawning from the depths of humankind.

Pitch laughed as it drew closer to the little speck of light, hunting her.

She didn't have long now.

* * *

"I don't understand what you're asking." Sophie said, her tone slightly irritated.

It wasn't Nightlight. Really. It was the little bugs that kept zipping by her face, dive bombing her. Sophie swatted at the fifteeth trillion bug in the past few hours and sighed, aggravated. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, questing to free the Guardians, but still! Nobody had told her that the first Guardian's home would be inhabited by hundreds of super annoying insects.

Sophie tracked with the undergrowth, following Nightlight, who kept asking the same question, over and over, slightly irritated himself. From what Sophie could understand, he was asking about the Shadowman, but she didn't know _what _he wanted to know. Nightlight hovered in the air as Sophie stepped over a thick tree root, and continued on.

Snapping his fingers, he got her attention, and projected a scene onto a cloud. Sophie saw herself rushing forward, the rope clutched in her hand, but the scene stopped, and zoomed in on the rope, and then panned out to the Shadowman. It finished by covering up the scene with a large, blue question mark.

Hadn't she already explained that to him?

Sophie shook her head and edged her way around a fern. She had no idea what Nightlight wanted, but maybe if she just explained what the Shadowman was in Burgess, that might answer his question. She really wished he could talk, but as Nightlight had said, "_MIM gives me the ability to speak. Without him, I'm mute. His existence gives me the inspiration to find a voice!_"

"Okay," Sophie said, her voice swallowed up by the thick forest, "Let me try to explain. So, when Burgess was first founded, a lot of people settled in. There was one man who was said to have practiced witchcraft to gain money and power. The other settlers found out and decided to hang him, but not before he cast another spell. When he died, his soul became a shadow, searching for a person to possess. He vowed to kill everyone who saw him. He's only scared of ropes, because that was the only thing that killed him."

Nightlight nodded, looking thoughtful as he absorbed the information. Sophie, glad that she'd seemed to answer whatever questions he had, continued trekking, fighting through the undergrowth. The trail - if one could call it that - had become completely overgrown with thick weeds and bushes, making it nearly impossible to slog through. It also made it super slow to walk through, hindering her progress.

It gave her time to think, though, and to dispel the notion that none of this _was _a very lucid dream. It was very much real.

At the pond the previous night, Nightlight had conjured his staff from thin air, twirled it, and aimed it at the water. A doorway had emerged, rising from the depths, glowing and shimmering.

"_We'll start at the place easiest for you. It gave you inspiration when you were younger, so it will be the place where you're strongest._"

"_What do you mean? I'm going to be weak?_" She'd asked.

"_These places - they don't exist on Earth. Not quite. So they were never made for humans. . . It'll be the only place I can accompany you to._"

"_What?!_" She'd cried, completely shocked. Nobody said anything about doing this alone! How could she find all of the Guardians by herself?

Nightlight looked at her, sadly. "_I was made for Earth. Without MIM, I'd just crumble and fade away. I also rely on the belief of children, and since you're the only child on Earth that believes, and we're leaving Earth. . ._"

She hadn't known what to think at the pond. She really hadn't. She'd been prepared to go on this journey with Nightlight, to have somebody to help her. In all of the fairytales she'd read, even the greatest heroes got companions to go along with them.

But in the end, if she got Mom and Jamie back, she'd walk through hell. So Sophie had accepted it. _Maybe even the Guardian will help me._

"_So. . ._" She'd asked, her voice unable to hide her nervous tremble, _"Where am I going?_"

Nightlight had grabbed her hand and gently led her to the door.

"_The Warren._"

The realm of the Easter Bunny.

Nightlight dropped back down to his feet, walking beside her. They hadn't even been there but ten minutes, and already, his bells were dropping, and his ethereal glow was fading. Sophie looked at him, concerned.

"Nightlight? Are you okay?"

He smiled at her, adding a thumbs-up for emphasis.

Sophie didn't buy it, but she didn't say anything. So long as they found the Guardian, and then got out of there, Nightlight would be okay. Resuming her hike through the undergrowth, Sophie kept talking, if only just to keep the silence from settling between them.

"So," She said, smacking another fern out of the way, "We're at the Warren now. What do I do? How do I find the Guardian?"

Nightlight twirled his finger in the air, and a little cloud rose in response. Sophie saw a picture of images, and she was really glad she was good at charades, because it was hard to piece together.

She was shown a picture of herself, of all of the colors and images that constantly swam through her head. All of the colors fled into a heart, beating in her chest, shimmering with a myriad of hues. Then she saw an outline of what had to be the Easter Bunny, and saw that same heart.

"My heart? I have to find the heart of the Easter Bunny?"

Nightlight nodded, and for extra emphasis, showed her a Sophie-outline picking up the colorful heart and placing it on the Easter Bunny-outline's chest, where it started beating.

"Not like, a real heart, right?"

Nightlight nodded. Sophie breathed a sigh of relief. _Good. I so did not want to play with intestines. _

A light breeze picked up, making the stifling heat of the forest somewhat bearable. Sophie wiped at the sweat collecting on her forehead and sighed in bliss. She stopped to catch her breath, just basking in the gust of wind. Nightlight stopped beside her, also taking the opportunity to rest. Sophie stretched, working the kinks out in her muscles, and in the process of doing so, saw a little creature.

On the ground, she could see, strangely enough, a tiny little sugar glider. It was _adorable._

With a little smile, Sophie began to approach it. "Look Nightlight, a sugar glider! It's so cute. And look, it's friendly."

Nightlight didn't grab her arm in warning, or do anything to stop her, so Sophie took that as an A-OK on sugar glider approach. She bent down and wiggled her fingers, clicking her tongue.

"Come here, little guy. I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise. You're so _cute!_" She gushed.

The tiny sugar glider hopped forward, slightly wary, but eventually made it to her hands. Like a domesticated pet, it hopped into her cupped palm, and didn't jump away when she cradled it with her second hand. Sophie stood, cooing at the tiny pet, stroking its delicate fur lightly with one her thumbs. She grinned, turning to show Nightlight.

The wind that buffeted them was quick, rising out of nowhere, and vicious. Sophie let out a startled yelp, and cradled the sugar glider to her chest as the wind howled around them. Her hair whipped about her face, obscuring her vision, and somehow, over the gales, she could hear Nightlight's bells jingling in warning.

"Nightlight!" She cried, her voice snatched by the winds. "Nightlight, where are you? What's happening?"

A particularly strong gust of wind knocked her over, knocking the sugar glider out of her hands. Her heart wrenched when she saw the poor thing get carried into the forest by the winds. Sophie, not knowing what else to do, curled up into a ball on the ground. The winds raged around her for just another moment before they died down, and silence covered her like a smothering blanket.

Gently, she picked herself up and peered around her, finding the forest settling back into place.

But Nightlight was gone.

"Nightlight!" Sophie cried, springing up to her feet, "Nightlight, where are you?"

Recklessly, she dove into the undergrowth, searching and tearing through the leafy flora to find him. She started to run down the path, shouting his name, fear making her heart pound. Where had Nightlight gone? Where had the wind come from?

Nothing but silence greeted her, only increasing her anxiety. Still, Sophie plunged onward, determined to find her friend. "Nightlight!" She called, "Nightlight!"

The forest bled into an incomprehensible mess of green and brown. She could have sworn that, more than once, she passed the same bit of forest she'd already searched, but she ignored the feeling and pressed on anyway. Seconds bled into minutes, and minutes stretched into an eternity, but she still found no trace of Nightlight.

Fear tried to claw at her mind, but she refused to let it. Sophie finally forced herself to stop, and take five, deep breaths. Nightlight had said that he wasn't made for the other worlds, that they weren't on Earth. Maybe he'd been forced to go back, before he disappeared? He would never willingly leave her alone, after all, and it was the only logical conclusion she could come to. Nodding her head, Sophie began walking again, following the trail.

If that was the case, she would be alright. She just had to find the heart of the Easter Bunny, give it back to him, and then she could move onto her next area. One by one, she'd find all of the hearts of the Guardians and then she'd get back Mom and Jamie. Repeating her resolve to herself calmed Sophie, and gave her enough courage to continue down the trail.

Almost immediately, it felt like, she was rewarded with the view of bright, dappled sunlight in a clearing just ahead of her. Sophie hurried forward, and finally came out of the forest. Golden beams of sunlight warmed her, and spanning before her was something Sophie couldn't readily explain.

It looked like a series of darkened tunnels, covered in moss. Hundreds of sprawling little pathways led to the tunnels, where a placard, worn down with age, declared a. . . a continent? Sophie frowned, puzzled, as she gently stepped over the trails and drew closer to the tunnels. Yes, there was a continent above each of them. As she approached one, something under her gave way, and with a little cry, she fell.

Sophie grimaced as she landed on her tailbone, but she began to get up again, and paused.

All over her hand, there were colors. Some where matte, some were glittery, others a beautiful shimmer. Peering down into the grass, she saw little puddles - _I didn't even notice and stepped in color puddles. _But as she looked at her hands, she felt memories rising, cloudy recollections of a time when she'd run around, happily giggling and smearing paint on everything, while a deep, accented voice had chuckled and watched over her.

Something cracked behind her - a treebranch, if she had to guess. But Sophie whipped around, her throat tightening.

"Who's there? Nightlight? Is that you?"

The greenery rustled and moved, but the height of it was wrong. Nightlight was taller, and he would have made less noise. Sophie tensed, waiting for whatever it was to pop out. She was expecting something. An animal. The sugar glider.

She wasn't expecting what she saw.

Sophie's mouth dropped open as she saw a little boy, hardly more than eight, emerge from the forest.

_What the heck? _


	6. Ward of the Warren, II

**Belief  
**

**Rating: **T

**Disclaimer:** I don't own this. I really wish I did, though.

**Author's Notes**: Okay!

Here you are, the thrilling conclusion to Ward of the Warren!

Was it Bunnymund's heart? Who is this mysterious little boy?

Where is Nightlight?!

Will Sophie find the heart?

Find out! :D

Thank you to everybody who reviewed. I'm absolutely loving writing this story. I hope to have the next installment up possibly next week some time! *Gasp.* But in the meantime, let this slightly-longer piece tide you over. :D

* * *

**Ward of the Warren, II  
**

"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls."  
-Anais Nin

* * *

Silence reigned.

The little boy stared at her, blinking. He was still and quiet, standing out starkly against the lush green backdrop of the humid forest. Sophie stood there, a little dumbstruck, not quite sure what to think. There she was, covered in sparkling goo, her tailbone aching, her hair a tangled mess, and she probably looked crazy, to boot. The little boy stared at her, expression impassive.

"Uh hello. . ." Sophie said, "Are you lost?"

The boy didn't answer. He just stood there, staring at her.

_I'm probably scaring him. What if that wind scared him?_

The sudden tempest had done well enough to frighten her, what was it to say that the little boy wasn't afraid? Wiping the remnants of the paint on her pants, Sophie walked away from the tunnels and towards the little boy. When she got closer, she looked down at him and smiled, bending over just a little to come down to his height.

"Did you wander in here somehow? Did the wind scare you?"

The boy didn't say anything, although he did nod.

Sophie was taken aback when she finally noticed his eyes. They were a bright, vibrant red. An impossible color, but magnificent nonetheless. His hair was prematurely gray, and cluttered with moss and twigs. Recovering, Sophie smiled and reached her hand out, gently brushing it through his hair. She picked out little leaves and twigs, trying her best to exude an aura of comfort.

"Don't worry. I'll protect you. The wind was really scary, huh?"

The boy nodded again, peering up at her. For once in her life, Sophie was completely at a loss. She just wasn't sure how to decipher the expression she saw in his eyes. Pushing it aside, she knelt in front of him and began to straighten out his clothes. Strangely enough, the kid was wearing a long, tattered red scarf, and he only had one shoe, worn on his left foot. He wore a simple, tattered white shirt and gray shorts, and if Sophie didn't know any better, she'd honestly assume that he was homeless.

_Might as well make myself useful._

Getting to her feet, Sophie hoped he wouldn't notice the streaks of color she'd left on him. She grinned at him and grabbed his hand.

"Well, let's get to exploring, then, okay?"

Another nod of the head. The mute boy didn't protest as she began walking, and the teen was relieved to find that he held her hand tightly in turn. He barely made a whisper of a sound as she started walking. The forest was quiet, and a feeling of discomfort began to churn in her stomach. She had no idea where the wind had come from, or where Nightlight had disappeared to, but she knew something was going to happen. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"Have you seen anybody else around?" Sophie asked, peering over her shoulder.

The boy shook his head.

"Well, that's okay. I know we'll run into him soon enough. He's a friend of mine - his name is Nightlight. He actually glows, and has white hair! Can you imagine anybody having white hair?"

The boy looked at her pointedly, and Sophie laughed.

"Sorry. I think your hair's kind of cool, though. You can dye it all kinds of crazy colors. So, how did you get lost here?"

Silence. Sophie kept walking, holding his hand, and though it was awkward, she persisted.

She could charm rust off iron if she tried, and she was even better with kids.

"It's okay if you're afraid. I'll help you find your way back home. First, we have to find. . . Nightlight."

Sophie stopped, frowning.

There, right in front of her, she could see the hub that led to all of the individual tunnels. She glanced down and saw the disturbed patch of moss she'd slid in, dirt and greenery disrupted. She twisted around, puzzled and confused. Surely, she hadn't tracked around in a circle? She'd made certain to veer to the left, where a semi-tunnel had been formed in the ground. It had appeared to lead deeper into the forest. . . hadn't it?

"I think I made a mistake." She huffed, "Let's try that again, okay?"

The boy followed behind her mutely, and Sophie tugged on his arm, spurring them both into motion once more. This time, she made sure to watch her footsteps as she entered the semi-tunnel, determined not to make the same mistake twice. She kept a close eye on her surroundings as she continued on.

The heat of the forest began to press in around her, and she felt her cheeks warm in response. Sophie found with every step she took, fatigue began to grip her more and more, and her throat began to swell, making it difficult to breathe. She pulled them both to a stop, and put her hands on her knees, wheezing.

_I think I'm allergic to something. It feels like I'm running a fever, and it's getting hard to breathe._

The boy touched her shoulder, and Sophie craned her neck to look at him.

"I'll be okay," She croaked, her voice hoarse, "I just need to catch my breath."

It was a big lie.

With every passing second, she was feeling worse. Dizziness and nausea quickly followed suit, and her heart quickened in her chest. No air seemed to be enough air, and Sophie groaned as her body grew achy. She was definitely running a fever. But what was she allergic to? Was it because, as Nightlight said, this plane wasn't meant for humans?

The boy patted her shoulder.

"Give me a second." She rasped.

He tapped her shoulder again.

"What?" She asked, barely managing to lift her head to look at him.

He looked over her shoulder, and pointed. Sophie followed his finger.

And she paled.

On a ridge, three wolves stared down at them, bodies low to the ground, lips pulled back from their muzzles, sharp, white teeth bared. Despite the sickness in her body, Sophie forced herself to get to her feet, and she placed herself in front of the boy. Breathing raspy and labored, she tucked him behind her and stood tall.

"It'll be okay." Sophie murmured, "They won't hurt us."

As if insulted by her words, the wolves growled, and as a pack, rushed forward. Sophie gasped. One of the wolves smacked into her, knocking her down to the ground, and the wind left her in a painful rush. She coughed and wheezed, sucking in deep lungfuls of air and trying to stop the world from spinning. She coughed, and was terrified to hear that it sounded wet.

She tasted copper.

_The boy!_

I've got to get up and save him!

With shaking limbs, Sophie pushed herself up to her hands and knees, and came up to a kneeling position. Her head swayed drunkenly, and her vision doubled as she tried to find the boy. She couldn't see his mop of white hair anywhere. She tried to speak, asking vainly where he was, and her head lolled back and forth, trying to see. She could hear the wolves growling, and it only redoubled her need to find the boy and try to save him.

There.

She finally saw a flash of light, and she looked up, finding the boy standing right beside a wolf.

"N-No," She croaked, "R-Run. . R. ."

The words died in her throat, and she nearly choked when the boy reached out and ran a hand through the wolf's fur, treating it as though it were a pet. Sophie's head spun, and the world began to blur, but she didn't miss how those inhumanly red eyes began to lighten, almost glowing, and how his lips twisted into a smile.

It was dark, sinister, and promised pain and misery.

Sophie struggled to get to her feet, but she turned and ran, clumsy and slow, as she sought to escape the boy and the wolves. She could hear the animals snarling, and almost immediately afterward, another wolf tackled her. She bounced painfully on the ground, and cried out in fear as it clamped its jaw around her ankle and began to shake its head vigorously. It only managed to get a mouthful of her jeans, but if it kept up, it would probably break her leg.

She clawed at the ground, trying to escape, fear washing her blood with ice. Adrenaline spiked through her system, giving Sophie enough strength to flip over and kick the wolf with her free foot. It yelped, and dislodged.

The other two started running forward, intent on taking her down for good. Sophie scrambled up to her feet, breathing wet and labored, and the copper she was tasting bubbled up to her tongue. She coughed, and blood splashed her arm.

_I'm bleeding. On the inside._

I'm going to die!

Fear made her run, and adrenaline gave her the strength to do it.

The world twisted and turned as she tried to survive, and tears bubbled in her eyes. She didn't want to go out. Not like this. Not chased down by a demonic child and his pet wolves. A snarl sounded to her right, and she just barely managed to duck away from the wolf as it tried to bite down on her calf. The child's laughter echoed around the forest, thick and demonic.

_I swore I'd get Mom and Jamie away from Pitch! I can't die like this!_

Despite the way her breath rattled in her lungs, and how the world was quickly turning into a blurry mess, Sophie kept running. Her entire body was turning into jelly, but she forced herself to go on. She had to. For Mom and Jamie. The wolves were snarling and snapping at her feet, spurring Sophie to keep running, but she desperately turned her head to and fro, looking for an exit, an escape of some kind. There had to be some way out of this.

"Please. . ." She murmured breathlessly as she ran.

_Somebody, please help me._

Through the cacophony of insane laughter, Sophie's eyes landed on a bright, golden light.

She didn't know how she knew, but Sophie knew that the light meant safety. It meant peace. Turning, she sprinted for it, gasping for air as her lungs set themselves on fire. She didn't have much energy left in her, she knew. Every step she took was like dragging around a heavy weight, and it only got worse as she continued. The wolves, as if sensing her weakness, began to advance, their snarls closer, their teeth nipping the back of her legs -

Sophie let out a cry as she dove forward, jumping to the light.

She didn't expect to land on a hard, rocky surface, but she did, the wind leaving her in a noisy rush. She gasped as she laid on a cool, rough surface, and twisted around, trying to see the wolves that were surely about to rip out her throat. . .

Only there weren't any wolves.

In fact, she was staring at the bright, sunny opening leading into a shallow cave.

Sophie breathed heavily, swallowing against the overwhelming taste of copper on her tongue.

_But. . . They were. . . right there._

Her thoughts, like her body, was beginning to slow down. She coughed, more wetness bubbling up from her lungs. _I can't. . . I can't think about it. The light. I need to get to the light._

It was there, in the back of the cave, shimmering a little less brightly, but it beckoned for her. Sophie flipped herself over and began to drag herself to it, gripping at the rocks with her fingers.

Something made a low, hollow _thunk _behind her, and she twisted her neck to see what was behind her-

Something hard cracked across her head, and stars exploded in Sophie's vision.

A short, childish giggle answered who had hit her.

Sophie laid there, body wracked with sickness and pain, but she dug her fingers back into the rock and crawled forward, knees and feet pushing, trying to give her more leverage, nudging her just a few more inches. . .

The boy laughed, like it was the funniest thing in the world. He clapped, as if mocking her efforts.

Sophie coughed, but continued.

A hand laid on her back, and she screamed. It felt as though somebody was digging a hand into her stomach and _grabbing _her, pulling and twisting and knotting all of her organs. She coughed, and then vomited, the flavor of blood hot on her tongue. Still, her fingers relentlessly grabbed the rock, and she dragged herself, breathing a raspy wheeze, her vision darkening.

She was almost. . . to the. . .

She couldn't give up. She had to keep going.

Sophie stretched a hand forward.

She had to. . .

With a rattling shudder, Sophie's heart stopped.

* * *

A jingling in her ears alerted her to another presence.

_Leave me alone. I hurt everywhere_, she thought crabbily.

Jingle jingle.

Jinglejinglejingle.

"What?" She croaked, cracking open an eye.

A mop of spiky white hair greeted her, followed by the incredibly relieved expression of Nightlight.

Sophie opened both of her eyes, groaning as pain washed over her senses. Nightlight jingled as he moved, and she hissed when she saw delicate hues of blues and purple flare in the air around her. But then a soothing, cooling sensation spread through her body, and strength flooded her limbs. With a moan, Sophie pressed herself up to her hands and knees, and with Nightlight's help, got to her feet.

He began to walk her out of the cave, and Sophie let him, grateful for the help.

"Where were you?" Sophie asked, her voice raspy. "You left me. . ."

Nightlight shook his head. Before elaborating, he set her down gently, outside, where the sun warmed her chilled skin. Sophie let out a contented sigh as she began to suck up the warmth. Nightlight flicked his hand, and a small cloud appeared. Sophie watched, blearily, as the trees shook, and the wind swept him up and away. It dumped him somewhere, someplace far away. Nightlight jumped up, and at his feet, the tiny sugarglider landed.

It blinked, and its eyes turned red.

Before Sophie's eyes, the tiny, adorable little creature grew into a small human boy, with lanky, tangled hair, and magnificently red eyes.

"The boy?" Sophie asked incredulously.

With every second in the sun, she was beginning to feel better. That, and whatever Nightlight had done was quickly restoring her vitality. Breathing in deeply, Sophie grimaced, wishing that she had something to wash her mouth out with. It tasted like blood still.

_Gross._

Nightlight nodded. With a flick of his hand, the scene changed, and a word appeared on the little cloud.

LESHY.

"A lesh. . . ee?" Sophie asked.

Nightlight nodded.

_What's a Leshy?_

Nightlight flicked his finger again, showing an image of a giant. . . troll-looking thing. He showed her a few more images, too. It transformed into a thousand different things, and crudely-displayed people were lost in the forest as the Leshy kept spinning it, again and again, like a giant maze.

"I get it. . ." Sophie said, "That thing was the little boy. And the sugar glider. He led us both around. . . But why? Why did he go away? Why did I. . ."

Sophie trailed off, recalling those last, terrifying moments in the cave.

She thought she had been dead.

She remembered choking on her blood, the weight of the darkness erasing her reality, and the agony that had set her on fire. She could still hear the little boy. . . no, the Leshy's insane laughter, bouncing off the cave walls.

She'd died.

Sophie _remembered _dying.

Nightlight jingled again, and Sophie looked up at him.

He was pointing at her hands.

She peered down, and was momentarily surprised.

She hadn't even noticed she was holding it.

Opening her right hand, she gazed down at what she was holding. It was an egg. But a special little egg. All along its surface, tiny little jewels jutted out of it, and it sparkled with a myriad of colors. It looked like a. . what were those things called? Oh. A Faberge egg. Except this one wasn't crafted by some amazing artist. It looked as though it had been made by a child.

Still. Rough as it was, it looked utterly beautiful. It had a hinge running through the middle of it, begging to be opened.

Sophie looked up at Nightlight again, awed.

"Is this. . . the heart?" She asked.

Her protector grinned, nodding his head with enthusiasm.

Sophie, feeling much better, scrambled up to her feet.

_The Easter Bunny's heart saved me! That means he must be around here somewhere. . ._

"Where is he?" Sophie asked, barely able to contain her excitement. "He saved us, didn't he?"

At that, Nightlight shrugged his shoulders.

Honestly, that simple gesture blew Sophie away completely. Nightlight had known just about everything from the start of her journey, and to have him confess that he didn't know something. . . well. That kind of freaked her out, to be completely honest. But still. Clutching the Faberge egg to her chest, Sophie looked around her, puzzled. She had no idea where the Leshy had gone, but she had the heart, and that was the important part.

"I'm going to open it." Sophie announced, looking down at the little egg in her hands. "When I was running, I saw a light. . . Maybe I'm supposed to open it."

Nightlight nodded.

Sophie, holding the child's egg with trembling hands, pressed the top of it with her thumb. She heard a tiny _snick _as she pushed it open completely.

Bright, colored lights burst forth from it, with enough strength and radiance to be its own sun. With a gasp, the blonde dropped the egg, shielding her eyes from the light. A new wind kicked up, but this one was not as strong or as fierce as the gale the Leshy had conjured.

"What's happening?" Sophie called out, fearful that it would tear Nightlight away from her again.

As if sentient, the light began to expand, swelling in size, colors streaming around more and more violently. . . And then they exploded.

Sophie braced herself against the blast, but oddly enough, it passed over her gently, as if friendly. The air swirled with colored particles, and tiny plants blossomed from the ground, sucking them in. Tiny puffs of color escaped from them, and the green plants moved, as though they were alive.

"Wow." Sophie breathed, watching as more and more of the plants sprung up from the ground. They looked incredible. There must have been at _least _a thousand. The whole landscape began to writhe and breathe color.

Again, tiny, forgotten memories rose in her mind. She remembered this place. The colors had left such a big imprint on her mind, they had given her the inspiration to never be afraid of color. She loved every shade and hue, and it was little wonder why. Being in a place like this only made her love it all over again. Expectantly, however, she peered around, waiting for the owner of that deep, rumbling voice to come out and greet her.

Nothing. Not even a little whisper of movement, save for the plants.

"I don't understand." Sophie said, turning to look at Nightlight again, "Where's the Easter Bunny?"

Shock flooded her system as she saw Nightlight becoming intangible. His words came back to her.

"_I was made for Earth. Without MIM, I'd just crumble and fade away. I also rely on the belief of children, and since you're the only child on Earth that believes, and we're leaving Earth. . . _"

"Nightlight," Sophie said, her voice quivering, "Don't leave me. Please."

Nightlight smiled at her sadly, his eyes pained. He reached forward and grabbed her hands. _You can do it_, his expression seemed to say_, I have faith in you._

He released her, but Sophie scrambled to grab him again. "Nightlight, please! I'm scared!"

He flicked his hands, and a cloud appeared again.

And then Nightlight disappeared.

Sophie stood there, eyes glued to his little puff of cloud, to the letters that were on it.

YOU CAN FIGHT. YOU DON'T NEED ME. YOU NEVER DID.

Tears pricked at her eyes. Sophie struggled to keep them back, especially as Nightlight's last projection fizzled out of the air. She stood there, in the Easter Bunny's home, and suddenly, Sophie felt very, very small. All around her, the Warren writhed with life and color, but Sophie had never felt so alone and isolated. She brought her hands up to her face to wipe at her eyes, and that was when Sophie received another surprise.

Colored tattoos, much like the one Nightlight had given her on her leg, stood out against her skin in stark relief. They looked tribal in nature, and when the sun hit them at different angles, they changed color, constantly reflecting different, shimmery hues. They sprawled up from her hands to her shoulders, and in a bid to see if they went up any higher, Sophie rushed over to the first clear puddle she could find.

The tattoos did not, but they covered a good portion of her body.

. . . Not that she minded, because they _were _pretty kick ass. Unique and colorful, just like her.

More than that, though, Sophie found she had been gifted with bracers for her arms, and her shins. They seemed to be crafted out of a wood-like leather, but looked just as formidable and tough as police armor. She also had a bandolier, filled with little rock eggs, and two large, wooden boomerangs.

_What are these? _She thought.

She drew the boomerangs, testing their weight in her palms. It didn't make sense. She didn't really know how to use any of these - and what was up with the rock eggs?

A small whimper caught her attention, and Sophie whirled around, arms brought up defensively, her wrists tweaking out to the sides slightly, prepping to throw the wooden weapons in her hand.

She hadn't counted on moving so quickly, though.

The world turned into a blur, and with little grace, Sophie spun in a full circle and collapsed onto the ground. _How did I get so fast? _It felt like her entire body had been moving far too quickly for her mind to process, and, unbalanced, she'd fallen.

She shook her head and blinked a few times. A wet _thing _stuck itself into her face, and whimpered again. A tongue licked at her cheek.

With a startled yelp, Sophie scrambled backward, trying to put some distance between herself and the thing.

Again, the speed overcame her senses, and she collapsed once more. Cursing, she picked herself up, hearing another submissive whimper. Moving as slowly as she could, Sophie got to her knees and looked at what had stuck a wet nose in her face.

And she saw a wolf.

She froze, her heart leaping up into her throat, waiting for the wolf to lunge at her and try to rip her to shreds again.

To her surprise, however, the wolf got down onto its belly and crawled to her, almost like a dog would, ears bent back and whined. It looked at her, with a strange intelligence to its eyes, as if wanting to. . . to _apologize._

Sophie stared as it belly-crawled closer, whimpering again. She remained still as the wolf got closer, and closer, and finally, licked at her hand.

Tentatively, the teen reached out a hand, and slowly, achingly slowly, stretched it out to touch the top of the wolf's head. The animal whined again, eyes softening, and in a totally unexpected move, rushed forward and buried its head into her chest, nuzzling her. Sophie sat there, beyond shocked, but recovered. She stroked the fur of the wolf, who began to wag its tail, and pant happily.

"I don't know why you're being nice now, but. . . thank you." Sophie murmured.

The tears pricked at her eyes again, and she buried her face in the wolf's fur, inhaling the scent of the forest.

The wolf semi-sat, semi-crawled into her lap, and sat with her as she cried, for the millionth time.

Sophie felt scared, lost, and alone. The wolf sat with her, patiently waiting as she sobbed into its fur.


End file.
